About

Ingrid Pahl is an award-winning legal vice president and general secretary of Banco Itaú, the largest bank in Latin America and seventh largest in the world by assets. With more than 15 years of experience in the financial sector, Pahl was influential in expediting Banco Itaú’s entrance into Colombia by obtaining an operating licence for the company after lengthy procedural requirements had been set by the Colombian financial regulatory authority. Pahl names this as a career highlight, pointing to the very short period of time between Banco Itaú’s obtainment of an operating licence and establishing itself as the recognisable financial brand it is in Colombia today. Unlike her previous positions at Citibank Colombia and HSBC Colombia, where she worked in small teams, Pahl’s current position requires her to mostly instruct outside counsel in order to achieve her legal objectives for the company. Still, her heavily integrated relationship with Banco Itaú’s CEO, board directors and shareholders help her to maximise the effectiveness of her instructions. A source notes, ‘I’ve worked with [Pahl] – from the other side of the table – on a couple of complex, acquisition finance transactions, and she has always been a pleasure to work with. Her approach is common-sense and pragmatic and she always seeks to find solutions that will help her clients achieve their business objectives’.